(Some of the) people have spoken: Fine. That wasn’t a good way to make myself feel better.

You’re right: It is weak to rely on A-Rod to make me feel better about Papi.

But that doesn’t mean I’m letting A-Rod off the hook. After all, I have a history of pointing out delightful NYC headlines. Anyway, I’ll break this into two separate posts. Enjoy…

“But how do you ignore that the overflow caravan of futile support now includes John Wooden? How do you ignore that in the two weeks since A-Rod told us he had been hurt, refused to specify the injuries, but promised he was now healthy and ready to play his best, that he has instead possibly played his worst in the worst season of a great career?”
— Joel Sherman, New York Post, “You Simply Cannot Ignore Alex”

“There figures to be plenty of boos waiting for Alex Rodriguez at the Stadium tonight. That is what happens to players who struggle the way A-Rod has, going 2-for-20 with 14 strikeouts during the Yankees’ six games against Seattle and Anaheim last week.”
— Sam Borden, New York’s Daily News, “Jax Sees A-Rod Upside”

“That seems to be the eternal quest for Rodriguez, to show, somehow, what his gaudy career numbers really mean. This season, he is batting .279 with 26 homers and 93 runs batted in, yet a closer look shows mediocrity.”
— Tyler Kepner, The New York Times, “A Whiff of Futility, and Rodriguez Can’t Rest Easily

[…] Yeah, this is real bad (Desperate silver lining edition) (Seth Mnookin) Just When It Can’t Get Any Worse. It Gets Worse. (Surviving Grady) The situation is unmanageable (Boston Globe) Boston slugger Ortiz sent home for more heart tests (Boston Herald) […]

I’m not sure how A-ROD’s struggles is supposed to make Sox fans feel better about how this season is shaping up. This seems pretty empty and immature to me.
Perhaps this is the difference between a writer and a sports fan that writes.

There would be nothing to make anyone feel better about Papi’s health except the good news that he’s okay. God willing, with all of our prayers.

I’m hoping Seth would not actually deflect these concerns with finding glee in the struggles of others. However, if he was, then youâ€šÃ„Ã´re right Sully and sampath_dps. Although I get the feeling itâ€šÃ„Ã´s got more to do with losing 24 of the last 36.

Yet, sampath_dps hits it on the head. Iâ€šÃ„Ã´m sure this blog is a place for Mr. Serious Big Mnaankin Author Guy to revert to being a regular sports fan while keeping an eye on the blowhard, thoughtless posters (another public service thatâ€šÃ„Ã´s appreciated).

Itâ€šÃ„Ã´s actually nice to see Sully and sampath_dps are looking after Seth for his and everyone elseâ€šÃ„Ã´s sake.

If I can’t root for the Red Sox to win, I can root for the Yankees to lose.

Seth, what other AL teams do you think are rootable? I’m torn between chain-smoking Jim Leyland’s Tigers and the Oakland Moneyballers. And in the NL, so help me, I’m pulling for the Mets, with Pedro, Glavine, and The Gambler.

I guess Detroit (talk about a team that’s had it rough), Oakland (Beane, their weird clockwork August streaks, a bunch of crappy luck in the playoffs), the Mets (Pedro, David Wright, Beltran), the Phillies (put that city out of its misery), the Marlins, and the D-Backs (Josh Byrnes).

You may have invented the apologetically re-titled morphed by subject blog…. impressive.

Since I was one of those that said I almost felt sorry for the over the top A-Rod booing just before and after the All Star break, I donâ€šÃ„Ã´t feel one bit of regret in making fun of A-Rod now to ease the pain from watching the Red Sox over the last month. It all evens out man.

â€šÃ„Ãº… Rodriguez went 2-for-20 with 14 strikeouts in five contests against Seattle and Los Angeles, and also had a throat infection that caused him to miss Wednesday’s game against the Mariners.â€šÃ„Ã¹
– USA TODAY â€šÃ„Ã¬ â€šÃ„ÃºTigers-Yankees Previewâ€šÃ„Ã¹ -http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores106/106241/MLB673453.htm

I wonder if the throat infection could lead to the more serious â€šÃ„ÃºDown the Stretch and Playoff Choking Syndromeâ€šÃ„Ã¹ or the more dreaded yet unlikely â€šÃ„ÃºTook Your New Team from Contender to Pretenderâ€šÃ„Ã¹.